A Pop-Culture Podcast

Weekend Watch – 4/15/16

Welcome to the Weekend Watch. Where we try to point you towards the best ways to spend your viewing time (or, at least, steer you clear of the garbage).

Movies

The Jungle Book

Loren: Disney still does that great job of building a sense of wonder. I loved the animated one as a child, and the people behind this are all pretty great. Not sure I’ll catch it in the theater but it might be worth it.

RDT: This wasn’t on my radar until the reviews started coming in. I’m still a maybe though, at least on the big screen, because of all the upcoming stuff.

Rick: I’m not super into this, but it might be worth seeing in theaters just to enjoy the scale of it all.

Barbershop: The Next Cut

Loren: I won’t lie to you guys, I didn’t even watch this trailer. Next.

RDT: I remember enjoying the first one. Don’t remember the second one at all. I won’t rush out to theaters for it, but I’m sure I’ll see it eventually.

Criminal

RDT: My hope is that with the success of Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds can stop doing these weird body swapping movies.

Rick: *sigh* I so want to like this based on the cast, but word on the street is it’s beyond terrible. Pass.

Green Room

Loren: It leans a little too much on the torture porn scale for my personal taste but damn if that trailer doesn’t do its job. I look forward to seeing this at one of the Halloween Movie Marathons in the future.

Rick: Even if there was no terrifying Patrick Stewart, I’d be into this because of writer/director Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin).

Fan

Loren: This either needed to be more straightforward or more over the top. Being in the middle doesn’t really do it for me.

RDT: Hmm…had some fun visuals. I could see myself watching this from Rick’s living room.

Rick: Well…that story takes a hard left. I’m in just to see how far the lunacy goes.

Sing Street

Loren: This looks totally sweet and fun. With a good soundtrack to boot. In.

RDT: I’m turning into a bit of a John Carney fan. I love LOVE Once. And Begin Again was cute. Maybe not this weekend, or in theaters, but I’ll definitely see this.

Rick: I haven’t seen any of John Carney’s other films (Once, Begin Again), but this looks like fun.

Sworn Virgin

Loren: Looks interesting but not for me.

RDT: Maybe someday, but probably not.

Rick: I may not make it to theaters for this, but when I’m in the mood for complex human drama I’ll give it a spin.

Rio, I Love You

Loren: *Read Below First* I also haven’t watched the previous two “I Love You” movies. They don’t really speak to me, that being said the cast is (as per usual) tremendous and I like the overall concept.

RDT: Haven’t seen the others. Maybe, when they’re all streaming, I’ll do an “I Love You” marathon.

Rick: I couldn’t bring myself to watch the two previous entries in this “I Love You” series (New York, Paris), but this actually looks interesting.

Our Last Tango

Loren: This looks both gorgeous and fascinating. Sometimes watching great dancing gives me such joy.

RDT: A musical documentary, interesting. If it stays on my radar, I’ll give it a watch at some point.

Rick: The trailer doesn’t grab me, but the subject matter does. Great dancing can be mesmerizing to watch, so a documentary about two legendary Tango dancers seems worth seeking out.

Colonia

Loren: Religious cults are so creepy to me. I’m glad that there’s a suspense story within this one.

Francofonia

Loren: This is the kind of stuff we’d have been shown in film school and I would have ended up loving, but I know me, and I know I won’t end up seeing this.

RDT: These are the movies I know I should want to see. I should make time for them. But…

Rick: A mix of WWII history lesson and art appreciation. If director Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark) has proven anything, he knows how to creatively tackle history. Count me in. Though I wish they’d just shot on film instead of using that super fake looking film aging effect. It’s just distracting.

TV/Netflix/Blu-Ray

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 2

Loren: I’m sure the Lady and I will watch a few of these this weekend. We really enjoyed the first season and it’ll be interesting to see where they take the character.

RDT: Loved season 1 of this spiritual successor to 30 Rock. So, while I probably won’t binge it, I’m definitely in for it.

Rick: I enjoyed the first season more than I thought I would, so I’m in for the second round.

So that’s your upcoming weekend in review. Let us know what you saw, liked and/or hated.